Embedded
by Barbmad
Summary: What if Damon never compelled Elena to forget he met her first? What if Stephen was unaware that his older brother was back in town? What if the Gilbert parents had never passed away? Would there still be room for Vampires, love, etc?
1. Prologue

**em·bed·ded**

**1. ** To fix firmly in a surrounding mass: embed a post in concrete; fossils embedded in shale.

**2. ** To enclose snugly or firmly.

**3. ** To cause to be an integral part of a surrounding whole: "a minor accuracy embedded in a larger untruth" (Ian Jack).

**4. ** To assign (a journalist) to travel with a military unit during an armed conflict.

**5. ** _Biology_ To enclose (a specimen) in a supporting material before sectioning for microscopic examination.

**6.** To become embedded: The harpoon struck but did not embed.

_Hello all!  
_

_I'm what you could call an old friend to fanficion. I used to write Dawson's Creek fiction. (Oh man that does make me feel old *smile* ) I have to start by saying I'm a native Dutch speaking woman ;) and **still hunting for a Beta reader**. I have had this idea in my head for over a year and finally got down to work on it.  
_

_The fanfiction I have written before where mostly long story's. Sometimes a few one shots. This one we are in for the long run ;)  
_

_What do you need to know; Not much really. We start off in the present time 2012 and the next chapters will take us back to the beginning. I have rated this story K+ because it might get heated at some point and I will mark those updates to M. It won't follow the show really, this is its own story. The characters belong to the CW and Julie, I just borrow some in the hopes to give people a good read.  
_

_Thank you in advance to take the time to read this story! Please to let me know your thoughts/hopes for the story good or bad! Works like a charm ;)  
_

_Enjoy!  
_

_Barbara X  
_

_**Mystic Falls 2012, present day.**  
_

He held her hands tightly locked in his.

"Don't do this Elena, don't you dare" His intense blue eyes lingered on her lips; his voice hoarse and loaded with darkness. A small hint of something she could not define crept thought the vibrations that hit her.

Instantly a pleasant hum drizzled down her spine and warmth fluttered in the depth of her core. A tingling sensation ebbed thought her body, hitting its target straight between her tights.

Her cheeks flushed crimson red. _'He would know, he would feel, he would smell, oh no..'_ the panicked thoughts raced trough her mind. She tried to look at him with heavily lid eyes but it was no to avail. She felt his hunger flow from his broad frame; she felt the heavy fog of desire enclose around them, shielding the two from the outside world. It embedded her right that moment, sealing their desire into one.

'_No, no this was wrong, this was so wrong'_ her mind screamed at her begging her to turn around and stalk out the door too never look back. But she could not move, she could not breathe. His sent wrapped his claws around her immobilizing her body and soul. _'This was not supposed to happen...'_.

"Damon…" Her voice barely above a whisper and sounding distinctly raw. "I can't do this, I won't do this".

His finger touched her chin gingerly, in a flash fire spreading along her face at his touch as he lifted her gaze to meet his.

"Yes you will" he whispered lowering his lips inches away hovering over hers.

"But it's wrong" the words left her mouth but even to her own ears they sounded fake, an empty threat.

"No it's not" his warm breath hit her lips and instinctively her tong darted out to slip over her bottom lip. His eyes zoomed in on the gesture and his blue eyes sparked alive with something she had no courage to decipher. "It's just not right at this moment". his voice deep and humming with a force she had never felt and her eyes fell shut at the uttered words.

Feeling a swirl of wind around her she opened her eyes in surprise. Blinking wildly she scanned the room feeling strikingly cold at the lack of closeness .

_'He was gone'_

_'She could breathe again'_

Her knees buckled and a small gasp escaped her lips. Her body fell weakly into the sofa nestled closely to the fireplace of the boarding house. Her breath turned raged and deep. And at that instant she wished she had never met him, never laid eyes on him.


	2. Chapter 1

I'm finally here with Chapter 1 of this story! My Game has unexpectedly taken up more time than I expected. Thank you for the wonderful reviews, follows and favorites this story has gotten! Really it does make a writer's heart flutter and our muses to start working overtime!

I have struggled with this chapter for a long time. We go back in time to 2010 to set the story but at this time Elena is a sixteen year old teenager who is still completely in the dark about any supernatural life form (Even Bonnie's witchy witch stuff). So obviously I had to write this chapter imagining this carefree young Elena and Jeremy. After seeing them being forced to mature so fast on the show it's needless to say I needed some time to make her innocent in my head again ;)

I do hope I managed to pull that off, only one way to know! So off you go! Read and please review to let me know! And yes I'm still on the look out for a Beta! ;)

Thank you!

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_**Embedded Chapter 1**_

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**Mystic Fall's 2010**

"Lena and Jer can you both come down to the kitchen for a moment?" Her mother's voice echoed in Elena's ears. She frowned looking down at the clock on her bedside table. It was 22 pm, what on earth would her mother want from her and her brother at this hour?

Elena opened her bedroom door and she was greeted by the sight of her brother standing in his door frame, a confused and sleepy look printed on his face. He ran his hand through his bed tousled hair looking at her while crooking one eyebrow.

"Did you do something?" He whispered glancing down the stairs.

"No, not that I can remember anyway" She frowned becoming slightly suspicious. Her parents had acted kind of strange lately. Thoughts of them maybe getting a divorce had been steadily creeping up on her.

"How about you?" She started walking towards the stairs when she heard a sleepy mumbled 'no' come from behind her.

"Maybe they found your stash of playboy's" Elena grinned over her shoulders effectively startling her brother to a halt.

"Holy sh…" His face turned pale at the thought, this whole body going ridged from the sudden panic spurring from his chest.

"Relax" Elena snickered turning around and putting a hand on his shoulder. "If that was the case they would not need the both of us. I'm sure you're going be fine" She grinned as she signaled with one hand between the both of them and slapped him playfully on his arm before trailing down the stairs.

The tension in the Gilbert house had risen considerably over the last weeks and she just wanted to know why. So when she heard whispered voices just outside the kitchen door she motioned her brother to be silent and held her head close to the door and focused on the mumbled words.

_"Grayson Jonathan Gilbert, we have to tell them tonight!"_

_"Miranda just give me a few more days, I need some more information first"_

_"No! They need to know now, before it all starts"_

When she heard her mother use her father's full name, a slight panic started to rise in her chest. The idea that her parents might be heading for a divorce sprung right back to the forefront of her thoughts and it made her swiftly stride into the kitchen with a slightly pale face.

"Mom, Dad" She stared at them expectantly. Her spine went straight as if she was preparing herself to fence off some grave danger. She sensed her brother shifting to stand close behind her as they both looked at their parents, worry etched on their faces.

Grayson signed and looked down at the table, his face showing defeat as he outstretched his hands towards the chairs. "Have a seat kids" He signaled before running his hand through his ruffled hair. "We need to talk" He uttered as he placed himself on a chair at the right corner of the kitchen table.

Elena looked at her mother as she toke place next to her father. She noticed her brother move out from behind her and slide into the chair on the opposite side of their mother, leaving Elena face to face with her father. They just sat there in silence looking at their parents whose eyes seemed to shoot daggers at each other.

"Kids…" Her mother started as she rubbed her hands together. "There are some things you need to know, things that might be very difficult to believe but we really need you to trust us unconditionally now." she looked at them, her face never showing more seriousness then at that moment.

Elena's heart sank. "Are you guy's getting a divorce" She blurted out before her mother could say another word. She hadn't intended for that to come out, but it did and now Elena's gaze shifted nervously between both her parents.

Grayson's head snapped up and looked with wide eyes at his daughter while she saw her mother's mouth fall open in shock.

"No, no you're father and I are not getting a divorce" Miranda stared at her daughter.

"What gave you that idea?" Her father said as he grabbed for her hands, his eyes shining with confusion and worry.

"Well you guys have acted so weird lately and fighting so much and I though…" She mumbled, nearly embarrassed that she had thought about it in the first place. Unintentionally she let out a big breath of relief she did not know she had held. "I just thought you were heading towards a divorce".

"No honey" Her father tightened his grip on her hands. "You're mother and I love one other, you do not need to worry about that" he told her reassuringly, a small smile on his lips. But as soon as that smile appeared it vanished into a grim.

"But what we are about to tell you is very dangerous information, and we need you two to treat this information with the utter most care" He looked at both his children before fixing his gaze on his wife. She gave him a curt nod and he signed before speaking again. "I need to talk to you about something known as the council"

"The council?" She heard her brother chuckle next to her. "What is your dangerous information dad? Are you directing the next big Al Capone movie or something?" The young boys' laughter floated around the room but did nothing to cut the tension that seemed to roll off their parents.

"Honey" Miranda grabbed both Jeremy's hands in hers to make him focus on what she was about to say. "The council is a secret community created by the founding family's in 1864 to protect the people of this town from supernatural forces" She finished, her serious gaze darting between Elena and Jeremy while a deadly silence filled the room.

"But we are a founding family" Jeremy knitted his eyebrows together.

"We are part of the council" Grayson stated in fact.

Elena's head was spinning at a ludicrous rate by now. She looked at her hands still locked within the larger ones of her father.

"What do you mean with supernatural forces?" Elena looked confused at her father who signed for the umpteenth times tonight and looked at this wife.

"What we know about are vampires, werewolves and witches" Miranda explained. "But there might be others we don't know anything of, we can never be sure".

"And you expect us to believe this? Where is the camera hanging?" Jeremy blurted out nervously. He pulled his hands out of the grip of his mother to let them drift upwards and ran them through his hair.

"I'm afraid this is very real Jer" Miranda looked sternly at them both. "We normally don't tell our children until they become twenty-one, but considering what is about to happen…" She signed and looked sadly at her husband.

"What is about to happen?" Elena's head shot up, a slight worried emotion lingering in her eyes as both of her parents seemed to have their full focus on them now.

"The animal attacks around town over the last weeks are not regular animals" Grayson tried to keep the anger out of his voice but failed miserably. "The body's that were how his face changed as he spoke of what happened. Elena looked in awe as she saw the jaw line of her father tense, his eyes slightly knitting together in a hard frown and his breathing speeding up. His whole demeanor seemed to heighten on a level she had never seen before.

It scarred her. It felt unnatural.

Miranda noticed the change in her husband and quickly covered his hand with her own. The moment their hands touched Grayson seemed to snap out of his reverie and he forced his breathing to slow down while averting his eyes staring out of the window.

"We need you two to carry these on you at all times" Miranda reached out with her free hand towards the little apple-shaped jar she kept as decoration on the table. She fished out two identical rings, a necklace and a heavy chain bracelet and placed them before her on the table.

"These rings are Gilbert heirlooms" She explained as the grabbed the identical rings and held them out towards her children between her fingers.

"They contain a magic that will protect you from all supernatural dangers, as long as you have these on, no non-human creatures can kill you" She nodded her head encouraging her children to take one each.

Jeremy and Elena looked at the extended hand of their mother in shock, before reaching out to grab a hold of the ring his mother presented them. He saw Elena lean forward to grab the other. The moment the rings touched their skin, they lit up with a bright blue hue making both the siblings gasp out in surprise.

"Put them on quickly" Miranda urged.

Jeremy lifted the ring towards his ring finger on his right hand and slit the ring over it. He realized that the ring was too small, but before he could say a word the ring magically extended to fit his finger perfectly. He gasped and straightened his arm to looke at the ring, who was now snug in place as the blue hue diminished into nothing.

Elena's eyes where wide as she quickly moved to place the ring over her ring finger. She watched in awe as the ring became smaller to fit her size before the blue light extinguished into nothing.

Miranda and Grayson looked at one other and seemed a little relieved now that their children were linked to the family rings. Grayson nodded as Miranda picked up the bracelet and necklace.

"The rings will protect you from dying at the hands of non–human creatures" He pointed out.

"But there is one thing it can't protect you from" He grabbed the jewelry out of Miranda's hand.

"The compulsion of a vampire" He stated and lifted the necklace towards Elena.

"This jewelry contains an herb called vervain. Vervain is like a vampires poison. As long as you have these on they cannot compel you to do anything against your own will" He handled the necklace to Elena and the bracelet to Jeremy.

"Compulsion?" Jeremy wondered softly not really grabbing the concept his parents where trying to explain.

"A vampire can use compulsion on humans to make them do whatever they want. It takes away memories and leaves you without your own will. Once you are under compulsion, your destiny lays in the hands of that vampire. You are unable to resist any demand they make of you." Grayson gritted trough his teeth.

"Not one" Miranda added softly while absently rubbing her thumb over her husband fingers at their linked hands. He gave her hand a slight squeeze and smiled sadly.

Elena helped Jeremy put the heavy silver bracelet on his wrist before locking the necklace in place around her neck. Both just stared at their parents in confusion. So many questions came to mind yet nobody knew where to start. Both Elena and Jeremy where both tormented with a feeling of understanding. Somehow they knew they had been had been waiting to hear this their whole lives. And as scary as all of this sounded, it had an aery sense of recognition. They felt rooted to there chairs, not in complete fear but in aw of how all of a sudden their life seemed to make more sense. Finally Miranda stud up and walked over towards the teapot. Absently she busied herself in the kitchen to produce four steaming cups of tea.

She placed the steaming mugs in the center of the table before grabbing one herself. Locking the warmth between her hands, she signed as her eyes fell close and she sat back down to explain.

"In 1864 this town became infested with vampires. The founding family's learned the hard way on how to deal with this threat and lost many family and friends before striking back. We don't have much documentation left of the years before the council was founded as most of it was destroyed when the town came under attack. But some information has been passed on from generation on generation. Like the knowledge that vervain can sedate a vampire, it can temporarily wound them and it makes them weaker for a short period. It also prevents them from compelling humans. We know that vampires feed on humans to live. Our blood is there only food source. We also know they are stronger than any human and faster than light. They burn in the sun unlike their natural enemies, the werewolf's." As Miranda spoke softly they had all collected a warm mug into their hands and listened carefully.

"Werewolves are only a threat at full moon because this is the only time they turn into a wolf. But once they do, they no longer have any control over whom they are or what they do. They will kill and destroy anything they find in their path. They will not recognize you as a friend or family. They are only wolves for six hours when they turn but at that time they are lethal even to vampires. Werewolf's age unlike vampires. A vampire is an immortal. They only die with a wooden stake through the heart, while a werewolf will die of old age or when an silver object pierces their heart." Grayson squeezed his wife's hand softly. Silently indicating that this information would be sufficient.

For now.

Elena and Jeremy looked lost in their thoughts as they both sank further into their seats. All of a sudden they no longer felt like the free teenagers they where two hours ago. Suddenly remembering something Elena's head turned to her father.

"What's going to happen dad?" Elena said barely above a whisper, her heart beating fearfully in her chest.

"You said something was going to happen? That is why you are telling us this, no?" Her hands gripped around the mug tightly, willing her eyes to focus on her dad.

Her father stared at the both of them with a deep pain shining in his eyes. Hatred coiled inside him for ripping their childhood to shreds so early. He knew that the curse placed on the Gilbert family was keeping this children rooted to that chair instead of running and scream bloody murder for the hills like any other normal teenagers would have done. But the curse was something that had to wait, like all the other things that where yet to be told. Right now his children where as safe as he could have them and that would have to be enough.

For now.

"I'm a vampire hunter" He eventually whispered softly not meeting their eyes.

"I'm going to hunt them down and there is a change I might not come back"

And at that the room went deadly silent.

That was the night that the lives of a sixteen year old girl and her fourteen year old brother changed in the blink of an eye. It was the night that oddly enough all of a sudden their life made sense. It was the night that they realized what their future decided for them.

That was the night they both curled under the covers of Elena's bed to hide, wishing they could erase the last 2 hours of their lives.

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**Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you take some time to let me know what you think! **

**Xo  
**


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